Sky and Telescope - May 2018 - 62

Dark Sky Down Under

article during a short visit back in 2011. Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary (arkaroola.com.au) lies in the northern part
of Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, about 700 km north
of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. To get there, a
four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended, because the last
150 km of the 700-km road from Adelaide is unsealed (i.e.,
dirt). A nearby airﬁeld makes it possible to get there by small
aircraft as well. The sanctuary's remote location can cause
problems not only with transportation, but also with regard
to electricity, which is locally produced by a small generator.
This relative scarcity, however, does have a good side effect:
Limited access to power creates a truly dark observing site.
Arkaroola is a mecca for bushwalkers, four-wheel-drive
enthusiasts, and nature and wildlife lovers. In fact, Arkaroola
is a resort and a tourist shelter for active trans-Australian
travelers who stay there for a few days before continuing
their journeys across the continent. And, since the owner
Doug Sprigg is an avid amateur astronomer, the sanctuary
also sports three fully equipped observatories for visitors. Two
dome observatories each house a motorized 14-inch SchmidtCassegrain telescope, and a roll-off-roof observatory boasts
a 16-inch Go To Dobsonian, a 12-inch Dobsonian, a Meade
ETX-125, and two motorized chairs equipped with 20×100
binoculars.
The ﬁrst author of this article is foremost an astrophotographer, so he took along a lot of photographic equipment: an
HEQ-5 mount, two DSLR cameras, a bunch of lenses, and
an 80-mm apochromatic (APO) telescope. One can imagine that there wasn't much space left in the luggage for the
usual things taken on a 3-week trip! Luckily, we didn't need
to bring a counterweight on the plane as we were able to use
one from the Arkaroola inventory. The second author brought
quality 2-inch eyepieces: a 31-mm Nagler and a 17-mm
Ethos to be used with the 16-inch Dobs of Arkaroola. He also
packed two DSLR cameras for wide-ﬁeld, tracked photographs
and ultra-wide time lapses.
Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, July is a
winter month with very long nights. Astronomical night
begins around 7 o'clock in the evening and ends around 6
o'clock in the morning. This timeframe coincides with good
visibility of the Milky Way in both hemispheres. In South
Australia, winter also means better temperatures. While
we were there in July and August the temperature reached a
comfortable 20°C (68°F) during the day, while at the end of
the night only very rarely did it plummet down to a bit under
0°C (32°F). We spent a total of 17 days in Arkaroola, and out
of those we managed to observe on 13 nights. It's true that it
rained one night, but in the morning there was no evidence
of any precipitation.

q MAP Hop in your all-terrain rig and
hit the road for Arkaroola Wilderness
Sanctuary. Head north from Adelaide
until you run out of pavement, then
enjoy two more hours of driving on
"unsealed" roads.
qq DESERT VISTA The Arkaroola
Wilderness Sanctuary nestles in the
hills of the Flinders Ranges about
700 km north of Adelaide.

AU ST R A L I A

Arkaroola
Perth
Adelaide

Melbourne

It's Really Dark Here
The view of the winter Milky Way from -30° latitude is truly
impressive. The center of the galaxy lies right on the zenith.
The stories that say the Milky Way can cast a shadow are not
exaggerated - raising a hand above the ground easily proved
62

M AY 2 0 1 8 * S K Y & T E L E S C O P E

Sydney

M A P: FR E E V ECTO R M A PS .CO M; HILL S: JU R IJ STA R E

http://arkaroola.com.au http://www.VECTORMAPS.COM

Sky and Telescope - May 2018

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